Vol. VIU.-:'J'.37. 



AND IIOIlTiCULTi;S^\L JOURNAL. 



299 



dges.tlie Kiiiall stones to be crowded into lieaps 

 jFore it, rather than pressed into the earth where 

 ey lie, and the surface consequently left uneven ; 

 id when used upon the ground in the spring of 

 e year, which had been sown with grass seed the 

 II previous, the roots of the tender plant are often 

 ured by its tendency to drag, rather than to 

 ;/ over the ground. These difficulties are all 

 ired by enlarging the dian)eter. The large rol- 



also moves easier, and the weight, falling more 

 rectly upon the small stones, they are better 

 essed into the earth, the lumps of earth more 

 lely broken and the surface left much more 

 loothed over. 



My roller is of very simple and cheap construc- 

 Four worn out and condemned wagon or 

 rt wheels are placed upon an iron axle of about 

 feet in length and one and a half 



hes in diameter ; the old holes in the hubs 



er blades turning yellow, and the crop ultimately 

 reduced to one half, or less, from what might have 

 been expected. The first impression was that 

 the cause might be attributed to an unfavorable 

 change in the state of the >veatlier ; but having 

 noticed within three or four years, nothing of the 

 kind that coulil satisfactorily explain the phenom- 

 enon, I concluded that the real cause was more 

 likely to be traceil to the aggressioti of some small 

 insects. The short pieces of straw, which I send 

 you with this, will evince to you the fact beyond 

 a doubt. You will notice that said pieces are the 

 lower parts of the butts, and that their appearance 

 indicates a disordered state, by the unusual color, 

 and the small swellings on the outside of the 

 straw. On breaking them, the straw is not found 

 hollow as usual in the fashion of a quill, but solid, 

 hard, and brittle, anil in breaking, the same small 

 worms are found lodged therein. It seems evi- 



vin" been previovsly filled with wood, and a dent, therefore, that when the barley appears sud- 



w hole made through this of proper size to ad- 

 it the iron axle. The whole of the wheels are 

 en covered with oak plank, four inches wide and 

 inches in thicknes-. The roller is then sepa- 



denly blighted in spring, it must be from the ))unc 

 tiues made in its stems by some little fly, which 

 at that time deposits its eggs therein, and that said 

 punctures and the feeding of the worms after- 

 ted into two parts with the saw, leaving two ' wards, as soon as they are hatched, on the green 

 leels fastened togetherby the outside plank, for 1 and tender substance of the straw, check suddenly 



ch half ; a frame is then made round the whole, 

 3 ends of which are fitted on the ends of the 

 ie ;' abrace of iron a quarter or half an inch in 

 ckness with a hole for the axle to turn in, is ex- 

 ided from the centre of the axle between the 

 o parts of the roller and fastened to the for- 

 ird and after part of the frame, and a spire fitted 



the forward part to draw by, completes the 

 ler. 



After eigbt years' experience in the use of the 

 ler, upon grounds of all descriptions, 1 am fully 

 jivincp.d of its great utility, both upon grass and 

 lug'qAJaiid. Seeu-'sof all descriptions, by the 

 )W'i""^'j^f-ilii-'--i"?et,' vegetate sooner, more 

 nli'|'''and with much more certainty. One 

 jr's work with the roller, after ploughing and 

 rowing, will do more in pulverizing tbe soil, 



1 producing a finer tilth, than ten times the 

 ouut of labor with plough or harrow. One of 

 most beneficial uses is, however, upon ground 



h in the autumn previous, had been sowed 

 ,vn to grass. By the frequent changes of 

 ather, during our winters, the roots of the yourg 

 ss are often torn out of the ground. Let the 

 ler be applied after the frost is out in spring and 

 ore the ground has become entirely settled, and 

 effect produced, on comparing the part of a 

 i foiled, with a part not tolled, would satisfy 

 Wne of its amazing utility on young grass. — 

 s a mistaken idea, that the roller leaves the 

 und heavy. As well might the baker fear his 

 , lad would be made heavy by kneading his 



gh and smoothing the surface of his loaf. 

 \&jexington, March, 1830. K. P. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



j BLIGHT ON BARLEY. 



Ir Fessenden — Barley, which fonnerly was 

 )op well suited to the whole district for many 

 fes round Boston, has, unfortunately, become for 

 1,6 years past, much exposed to get blighted. — 

 *^ disease appears to have gradually extended, 

 ti lately, few fields, if any have been entirely 

 ^ from it. It makes, generally its appearance 

 \(.a the barley gets to be about eight or ten 

 liies high, when, on a sudden, from a state of 

 riant growth it will appear checked, the low- 



ts growth, ruin its produce, and ultimately reduce 

 the straw to that disordered and unnatural state, 

 in which we now see it. These facts being es- 

 tablished, it naturally occurs to the mind, to 

 search for some way of prevention or cure for 

 aj great an evil, which threatens, if not checked, 

 u destroy, perhaps, hereafter the possibility of 

 wising to any advantage so desirable and usefiil 

 s. grain as barley. 



It is evident that the soundness of the grain, 

 aised in a blighted field, is not afl'ected thereby 

 n the smallest degree ; the seed to perpetuate 

 die disease from year to year is lodged in the 

 straw, which, when hatched, are the worms now 

 under our consideration ; — there they are, and 

 when the genial warmth of the spring comes on 

 they will undoubtedly ])rogress through the trans- 

 formations usual for such insects, becoming first a 

 chrysalis, and then a small fly, just hatched and 

 ready at the appointed time to take to the wing, and 

 blight the next coming crop, in the same manner 

 as their parents did the crop of the past season. — 

 It seems, therefore, that our diligent care ought to 

 be, to collect all such short broken pieces of straw, 

 wherever I hey may be found, and destroy them 

 by fire. At the thrashing time most of them will re- 

 main on the floor with the grain, and fall by them- 

 selves afterwards with the dust when the barley 

 is worked through the winnowing machine. As 

 an additional caution it seems that all barley seed, 

 when wanted for sowing, should be washed and 

 well stirred in the water, which would give a 

 chance to collect all the straw.s, which may re- 

 main among it. When taken out of the water, 

 it might be worked into some ashes, or slacked 

 lime, which I conceive would be an advantage 

 to it. 



lu the stubble, left on the field, it appears most 

 likely, that a vast many of the same worms would 

 be found about this time, because the exposure of 

 the weather, during winter, being nothing more 

 than the due course of nature, their lives are not 

 likely to be destroyed thereby. But whenever the 

 stubble is ploughed in after harvest, we may safe- 

 ly anticipate the destruction of them, and it ought 

 to be an encouragement to sow barley alone in 

 ■spring, and the grass seeds afterwards in Sep- 



tember, which upon all lands, except on steep hills, 

 is the system which I follow, and is esteemed by 

 many careful farmers the safest and best method 

 of laying down grass lands. 



Whilst on the subject of Barley Seed, let a cau- 

 tion be given against ever using any imported 

 from Europe, as it is the general custom there to 

 dry in the kiln all grain which is shipped, even 

 for a short voyage, whereby the vegetative power 

 is destroyed or so much debilitated as to preclude 

 the possibility of a crop. 



I have placed in a glass a number of pieces of 

 the diseased straw alluded to in this paper, and 

 I shall request your leave to deposit the same in 

 your office, as an object of curiosity with some of 

 our friends, that the ultimate fate and transforma- 

 tion of the little destroyers, may, in due time, be 

 fully understood. 



Yours with nmch esteem, 



JVeston, .Ipril 5, 1830. ' i- M. G. 



Preservation of Seeds. — M. D'Arcet has pre- 

 served corn, which had been infested by weevils, 

 for a considerable lime, by putting it into vessels, 

 previously filled with sulphurous acid. All the 

 weevils perished, and the corn ceased to snft'er. 

 In this manner insects in seeds may not only be 

 destroyed, but their presence jirevented. As it 

 might be inconvenient to burn sulphur in the ves- 

 sels to be filled with sulphurous acid, we will in- 

 dicate another method of replacing the acid, and 

 obtaining the same results. All that is necessary 

 is, to powder the seeds well with flour of sul- 

 phur, before they are put into the bottles or other 

 vessels ; or after having put the seeds into a bot- 

 tle the sulphur may be added, and the whole well 

 shaken together, so as to bring it in contact with 

 all the seeds. The presence of the sulphur will 

 prevent entirely the attacks of insects. — Jour, des 

 Connais. (Jssuelles. 



Brighton Market — Monday, April 5. 

 (Reported for the Chronicle and Patriot ) 



At the market this day, 322 Beef Cattle, 25 

 Stores, 30 working Oxen, 13 Milch Cows, 69 Sheep, 

 and 345 Swine, divided as follows : Old Market, 

 103 Beef Cattle (including 20 unsold last week,) 

 20 working Oxen, 10 Milch Cows and 345 Swine. 

 J^cw Market, 219 Beef Cattle (including 40 unsold 

 last week) 25 Stores, 10 working Oxen, 3 Milch 

 Cows and 69 Sheep ; unsold at the close of tiie 

 market, 73 Beef Cattle and most of the Stores. — 

 Market continues 'glutted,' and sales 'dull ;' prices 

 as follows : extra cattle, 3 or 4 sold at $5,25 to 

 .$ g,50_good and prime Cattle, at $4,75 to $5,00 

 —middling Cattle at $4,25 to $4,50— thin or 

 ordinary Cattle at $4,00. 



Store Cattle— Yety few sales, 



Working Oxen — Considerable doing in e.xchang- 

 ing ; few sales only — extra working Oxen in de- 

 maud — no prices noticed. 



Milch Cows, as they generally are, ordinary — 

 sales at $15 to 20, including calves, are at auction 

 at $23,75, 



Sheep — Those at market ordinary — sold at 

 about $2,33. 



Sivine— Trade quite brisk— lots of 40 and 50 

 selected, at 5 cents — one entire lot at 4 J cents re- 

 tail — 4^ and 5J cents quick. 



At Downington, Pennsylvania, en the 5th ult. 

 a meeting of citizens was held for the jmrpose of 

 expressing opinions of the inutility of the militia 

 system. 



